hi everybody, welcome to "the wall street journal report." i'm mariria bartiromo. ben bernanke's blues, earnings clues and the market. where should you put your money now. yahoo! ends a search for a ceo again. and how the search could impact women in the work place. and centr park, the economic impact and why it is important toto her cities. "the wall street journal report" begins right now. is iss america's number one financial news program, "the wall street journal report." now, maria bartiromo. here is a lookt what is making news as we head into a new week on wall street, federal reserve chairman ben bernanke was anything but jolly when he testified before congress, offering a down beat view of the economy.

he says it was time for congress to enact fiscal policy. he didn't rule out anymore moves by the fed, but didn't promise any either. the fed's earnings in general, better than expected. by thuday, stocks had a three-day winning streak, but then fell by friday. and ge,he world's largest company, beating expectations by some 3.1 million in the quarter. it passed analyst's predictions as bank of america and morgan stanley fell short. and raising expectations, ebay, google, microsoft beat expectations, although microsoft did post its first ever loss. revenue a bit light as well. and mixed housing results, driven by a jump in single family homes, rising by nearly 7%, existing homes falling more than 5%, although prices were higher. analysts say that prices rose because there were fewer

disstressed sales. and looking past europe and the fiscal cliff to earning season, in full gear right now. which is more important? and how do you invest in this environment? joining me now with answers, tom lee, j.p. morgan's strategist, thank you for joining us. thank you. >> what is your take on the earning season so far? tell me how your clients are viewing it and what people are doing with their money these days. >> okay, well, clients are nervous about money these days, they're hearing europe slowing, china, big announcements. it turned out to be a lot better than expected. if you look at sort of bottom line numbers, about 60% are beating on earnings. that is a really good statisti, but only from the% are beat -- 40% are beating on revenueand rgins. >> why is it? >> slowing. >> do you still see a risk of partners, adversity, what are

they doing? >> actually, i was just in boston this week, they are very, very cautious, they look at europe. they d't think things have improved. the fiscal cliff is a big discussi now. and china, they're frustrated because the stock market has continued to really push towards new highs. >> interesting, even though the back drorop is what -- somewhat weak, thee maet i -- >> i t think sothing that is a good leading into care, the last 20 years, always called the direction right, high ield, high spreads. in other words, what the bond markets are doing. they are acting really well, starting to rally in june and july, these are corporate bonds. >> so everybody is looking for yield. i guess that is why corporate bonds are doing well and dividend payers are doing well? >> yes, actly, the markets are doing for proxys for bond, the

best group, the energy sector. >> energy has been doing well, even though oil is off of its highs? >> that is right, oilas really seen a big fall since the start of the year, one reason that energy was the worst performing group, year to date. but we have had a bounce in oil, maybe the market is seeing the growth in the second half. but if you look at energy stocks in the last ten years, they're about ten% cheap versus oil, i think they got too cheap. >> interesting, so where are the weak spots in terms of earnings right now? i know china is slowing, you're traveling a lot, europe is a mess. how do you want to be exposed in this mess? >> it is probably fair to say u.s. is doing better than expected in these earnings, u.s. financials are doing well. but europe companies and china companies are having big problems. so i really say focus on companies that sell toto the u >> do youu t think at some poine switch back to worrying about

the fiscal realities we face in this country? and there will be a resolution of any kind before the elections? or are we waiting until after the election to deal with the fiscal cliff, to deal with the issues? >> it is an enormous frustration, because we know they hear everybody. but the way washington works is they probably won't do anything until after the election. so they are struggling, maybe everybody is over-emphasizing the risk of the election -- it only expires if you let it happen, do nothing the entire 2013 fiscal year, which i think is a very low probability. >> yes, but what about ben bernanke, the chairman of the federal reserve testifying before congress this week, offering a downview of the economy again. the sentiment has weakened, we could see things worsen, but no real significant action that they promised. although, do you think we'll see

qe 3 or some type of stimulus from the fed? >> the call is for a 50% chance in september. so in other words, the august meeting unlikely. september, maybe, the fed does have to surprise us, so giving us too much inside the thought process, doesn't lp. >> so what about the market rallying? >> unfortunately, there is a knee jerk reaction, the market tends to do a risk reaction, when they see qe, i think we have to -- >> we are seeing a bit 6 a pick-up in housing, is that fair to say? >> yes, it is very visible. >> very visible, in fact, we finally have it bottoms, what are the implay indicationons, wt does it tell us? >> well, it is something we all have to under estimate. we all have to remember housing touches everybody. we all own a home, it is the most labor intensive activity in the company. so 250 homes creates a million jobs. and already, in q 2 houses account for one third of gdp

growth, less than 1% of the economy. like a little ant lifting a human, carrying 30 times its weight now. >> so what do you want to do in the face of investments, the standpoint -- >> i want to guess what the market is doing right now. the market is believing the rally can't last, most people think the market is going to hit new lows. they're buying defensive stocks. i think buying cycle cal, with u.s. exposure, and financials as well, because of the housing. >> because of the vaations. >> they're trading so low and they are the most lever to u.s. housing. >> but what about the fact ey're also exposed to sort of headline risk. anything coming out of europe impacts the banks, anything coming out of the j.p. morgan trading loss impacts the whole sector. >> it is a really big problem. because as you know the headlines are not pretty. the one that you could probably make is most investors probably discounted. you know, nobody wants to touch

a bank right now because of exactly what you said. and everybody knows the lengths to europe, you have to think it is not pced in those stocks. >> all right, thank you foror joining us, tom lee, from j.p. morgan. up next, yahoo!'s big search is over. the company naming a new ceo. what it could mean to the glass ceiling and w women in the wk plac and why it isa s storyf greaeatxpectatations s in more than one. and later on the "the wall street joual report" i i'm mingo youu om the middle of central park. we'll tell you about a bilillio dollar impact on the park and the local economy. deeply ] ♪ this is where the dream begins ♪ ♪ i want to grow ♪ i want to try ♪ i can almost touch the sky [ male announcer ] even the planet has anan olympic dam. dow is proud to support that dream by helping provide greener, more sustainable solutions from the olympic village to the stadium. solutionism. the new optimism.™ ♪ this dream

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welcome back, yahoo! has completed a search of its own, naming their fifth ceo in t the last year. the company hopes this one will stick. she is 37-year-old google executive, marissa mayer, who will join the ranks of women running companies in the united states.

what impact will it have on the work place? good to have you on the program ladies, thank you for joining us. kara, how big of a deal is this? 37-year-old woman being named the ceo of a major company. we'll get to the fact she is pregnant, which is a major deal. >> it is very important, there are very few women running companies, as ceo, meg whitman of hp is one, and cheryl sandberg, ceo of facebook. but there are very few women at the top of the power. >> it is very interesting, why did they go for marissa mayer? >> well, she is a star, very well-known, has a lot of articles out there, got herself known publicly. so i think yahoo! was going for a very splashy choice and somebody very confident to do the job. >> yes, and marissa mayer is pregnant, as are y. and congratulations. the board said her pregnancy was

not a big issue. i love that, is this a sign of changing times? >> i love that, it is an incredible sign of times. and the fact they worked it out is a very public statement about a very private matter. >> i was just talking to carol during the commercial break here. and i guess, you could have said okay, i understand if yahoo! is saying well, she is pregnant. now is not the right time. we don't really want to put a woman in charge knowing she will be out for six months. but it was not an issue, they said. >> absolutely, she worked it out. saying i will work a couple of weeks and work it out. very private decisions she worked out with her family and the board. and it is amazing how many people commented on her pregnancy, will it interfere with yahoo!'s running? and boy, she should really take pregnancy leave, she is an amazing woman with unusual circumstances and made it work for her family and board.

and i don't see why it is -- >> yeah, everybody has their own opinion. it is a great thing, i agree with you. kara, you mentioned other ceos, you have ibm, and meg whitman, what about that, is the world of technology slightly better than the rest of corporate america, in terms of being diverse? i can't think of four women in another sector, can you? >> there e a lot of consumer products companies. but no, it is still not good. years ago, there was a piece called men and women of facebook, which was before cheryl got there. other companies have very few women on the board. it is a very -- they still need to do a lot better in terms of bringing to the top leadership positions. there are a lot of women just below. >> and the other issue, gayle, some people say it is a sacrifice. but it is also a choice, women

choose to do different things, have lots of balls in the air. >> and i think there is also the question of who is funding companie we'll talk about how ther are not enough women on the vc side. so you don't see a lot of companies growing at the level that you do necessarily with mn in companies. and i think women arere choosin to do a lot ofdifferent things. but as carol would say there are a lot of different women below the sweep. having marissa shows that there are more in the pipeline and more ready to go, and it is actually more possible. >> and thehey're making their o schedules. cheryl sandberg, ceo of facebook, leaves at 5:30, gets home to her family. >> well, not every day. >> most nights, we agree on that. soso do you think this starts t debate over the work life balance for women? >> gosh, i mean, i think that she is just trying to do her own thing and make circumstances work for her. but there is no question that so many people are looking for

solutions and answers that any time a first -- anything, right, a first pregnant ceo, and this type of ahigh profile industry comes up, people will be watching and judging. which i think is a shame, because you know, she is trying to do something troerd and make it work for her own family. and beyond that, i don't think she is trying to make any type of public policy statement. >> right, i agree with you, everybody wants to judge something, what does marissa mayer have to do to turn around facebook? they have had five ceos in the last year, i mean come on, do they need a marketing ceo-- >> she does have a husband who can take care of the baby, too, fyi. very nice guy. it is a very difficult job. and one of the problems is that they're sort of painting her as a super woman. steve jobs, characr type. coming in and running a company. he was a unique person, founder of the company.

very different situation. this is a company in great distress with a lot of problems. and you know, internet companies, the young kill their old. and sometimes they just die like a myspace, and sometimes, can she create a country that has not been innovative for years, andstruggling. >> it is interesting that you bring up founders, with a different approach. it is different, than somebody who is a hired hand. >> she is getting a lot of money, by the way. and it is not a question of confidence. this person really does have what it takes. she has got the smarts, the drive, she is certainly aggressive. the question is how good can she be to revive this thing? how good can she do? especially with the competition from google, amazon, and apple. >> yes, it is all about the innovative, thank you so much, kara, gayle, good to see you. and we'll see you soon.

and by the way, cnbc who pruceshe program and yahoo! who produc the show, has a short editorial comment. and coming up, to manhattan island, what america's city parks mean to the local economy to your town. as we take a break we'll look at how the stock market impacted your week. back in a moment . [ male announcncer ] before yu take it on your road trip... we take it on ours. this summer r put your family in an exceptionally engineered mercedes-benz now for an exceponal price dung the summer event. but hurry, this offer ends july 31st. use the points we earnrn with o citi thankyou cd for a relaxing vacation. ♪ sometimes, we go for a ride in the park. maybe do a littlsightseeing. or, get some fre air. but this summer, we used our thankyou points to just ha out with a f few friends in londo.

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welcome back, the rectangular swath in the country in green, is an oasis, central park was the first public land park in the united state and today it brings a big bite to the apple. >> people are really starting to understand the importance of parks on the economy. and central park is a great example of that. wi we have the world's greatest hotels, real estate values, everything that is the best in new york city, and i think in the world is right around central park. >> and you're asuring it at a billion dollar impact? >> easy billion dollar impact. >> how do you get to a billion dollars? >> we are looking at how it"zr affects the real estate around the park. if you take a n-minute walk around central park it is a 17 billion lift to the real estate because theark is here. >> okay, because you have real estate taxes, the idea that

there is tourism tracking people. >> 47 million people visit central every year, there is n plplace like that anhere? the world. >> close to 40 million annually from events, concessions and nearly 4,000 jobs, generated by the 848 acres that serve as new york's front yard. central park, also grossed 700 million in municipal tax revenue, a value close to the total annual cost of the park's system. you have been here 27 years, take us back 30 years and tell us how things changed here. >> when i went to school in 1980, we came here to see how to do an exercise. it was filled with garbage, we came up to this beautiful castle that was completely closed and covered with graffiti. >> so inn the '70s and '80s, people may not have wanted to come in the park? >> they actually didn't, they

would walk up and sayay is it se to go in >> the park has invested millions, nearly 500 million raised from private sources. the central park conservancy is truly a model of public parks. how does it work? >> the city is asking us to intain andestore the park for the city of new york. but what is interesting in our model, wectually have to raise the vast majity of the money. 85% of o 42 million budget really ces frorom people who live around the park. it is really people who support the park, the corporations and foundaons. the city only gives about 15% of the annual budgets. >> a community-support greenen space that makes money for its home town was just part of the effect hoped for by the pa's first commissioner in 1870. >> well, when he created the park he really wanted it to be created for the workers of new york city. the people who couldn't get away. they wanted them to have mountains in new york city.

so when you go up in the north woods and get off the bebeaten paths, you would have no idea you're in new york city. >> wow, these steps are so tit. this is beautiful, amazing. >> this is o of new york city's great views that not many people get to take advantage of. and i'm shocked that they don't get to take advantage of belvedere castle, that is beautiful in italian. everything you see in central park is completely manmade. every tree had to be brought in. all the soil was brought in. the only thing they brought in, the ships, everything was built around that. >> so what is the most expensive part of the maintenance of the park? what would people are surprised at? >> at the end of the day we don't own anything, our greatest asset is the people in e park. we have over 35 statues, a of those are different. people maintain them. people come in the park to see

the statues and the 23,000 trees. people come in the park just to see the bridges and arches. this is really a neat restoration of the park. >> what causes headaches? bikers going too fast? >> you know, itt is going from 2 millllion investors 35 years ag to 40 million. in some ways we created a monster, but it is a good monster. >> my thanks to doug blonsky, we'll look at america's top chef, the recipe for success, and spelling a whole lot o green.

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for more on our ow and our est, check out the website, wsjr.c.cnbc. and i hope you follow me on google. and now the stories coming up in the week ahead, that may impact your money. second quarter earnings reports coming out from mcdonald's boeing, chevron, exxon mobile and merc k.and on friday, the first reading of second quarter gross domestic product. gdp brought us the measure of the health of the economy, also. the 2012 olympics well kick off in london. and finally, he had a soccer injury, but gordon ramsey took

top spot, an empire that includes restaurants around the world, tv shows, cookbooks, he passed rachael ray at 25 million, and paula deanan at 17 million. a real taste of wealth and profits. that will do it for me. thank you to my